Get Your Rants

Followers

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Good, bad, worst

First the good news: The Browns are 5-3 after eight games
following their 22-17 victory Sunday over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now the bad news: For the first time this season, they have
strung three less-than-ordinary games together and are fortunate to have won
two of them.

And the worst news: The easiest part of the 2014 schedule is
history. Five of the next eight games are against teams with winning
records and two of those against losing teams are on the road, where the Browns have
won just once this season and it took a record comeback to accomplish that.

Three of the next four outings, starting Thursday night in
Cincinnati in front of a national television audience, are away from home,
where they are a dizzying 4-1 this season.

Considering how the Browns have played in the last three
games against teams that have a combined victory total of two, better buckle up
because the rest of the journey is going to be very interesting.

Unless the Cleveland offense can somehow remember how well
it performed in the first five games of the season, the next eight games will
be a character test for the defense, which has lacked consistency all season.

It took the
anemic offenses of Jacksonville, Oakland and Tampa Bay and made them look like
All-Pro attacks. The Bucs, for example, accumulated 100 yards of total offense
last week in the first three quarters of a loss to Minnesota. Against the Browns, they racked up 126 yards
in the first quarter alone and wound up with 365.

The Cleveland defense has been pushed around by three
struggling offenses the last three weeks, although it has managed to blunt the
opposition with timely turnovers. Such as a couple of interceptions against the
Buccaneers Sunday.

The special teams threw in a blocked field goal by Billy
Winn and partially blocked punt by Craig Robertson and translated them into the
first of Billy Cundiff’s field goals and a Terrance West touchdown midway
through the fourth quarter. Four positive plays by those two units and all the
offense could put up was 22 points.

That offense is gone. It has disappeared. It vanished
against three of the worst teams in the National Football League. It flashed
every once in a while, such as the 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that opened
the second half against the Bucs.

But it took a small slice of fortune to accomplish even
that. Mike Pettine called on Cundiff for the fourth time when the drive bogged
down at the Tampa Bay 7. Cundiff made the 25-yard chip shot to give the Browns
a 12-10 lead, but Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy jumped offside.

There’s an axiom in football that you don’t take points off
the board in the event of a penalty that doesn’t give you at least a first
down. In this case, it didn’t because it was a half-the-distance penalty that
placed the ball a foot shy of the first down at the Bucs 4.

Pettine chose to ignore that axiom. So instead of leading by a pair, the coach gambled and won when West gouged out a couple of yards over right
guard and then scored on a nice play-fake misdirection pass from Brian Hoyer
all alone in the right flat.

That was one of the few bright spots for the offense, which
received a mediocre performance again from the bug guys up front. West and Ben
Tate accumulated just 50 yards on 28 carries – you don’t have to be a math
wizard to know how embarrassing that is – and the very busy and active Tampa
Bay defense harassed Hoyer all day. Tate had 10 carries for three yards.

Hoyer had precious little time to make decisions when
dropping straight back, whether from under center or in the shotgun. His
release was slow and recognition of the Bucs defense and coverage even slower.

It was only when the quarterback rolled out on misdirection
plays and fired throwback passes did he and the offense look reasonably
efficient. But on one of them, the first play following Donte Whitner’s 54-yard
interception courtesy of a tip by Joe Haden late in the opening quarter, his
weak arm took center stage and prevented as touchdown.

Throwing across the field at the Bucs 25, Hoyer’s pass to
Tate arrived as a dead quail. This one died during the flight. It was all Tate
could do to haul it on while stumbling out of bounds at the 5-yard line. Two
Tate runs produced one yard and a seven-yard Hoyer sack brought in Cundiff for
field goal No. 2.

With any kind of decent throw by Hoyer, who checked in with
21-of- 34 for 300 yards and two touchdowns, that pass to Tate would have been
on time and in time for him to score. His numbers look impressive, but lurking
under those numbers is a disturbing inconsistency.

Often times, Hoyer either threw too high or behind his
intended targets. After consecutive three-and-outs following the opening
second-half drive, restless fans began voicing their displeasure as television
cameras zeroed in on Johnny Manziel. But the backup quarterback remained
tethered to the bench.

Hoyer rewarded his coach with a 34-yard scoring strike to
rookie Taylor Gabriel on a busted play two plays following the Robertson’s
blocked punt midway through the final quarter to give the Browns their final
margin.

Once again, it was on a misdirection rollout with Hoyer
throwing across the field, this time far enough for Gabriel to run under it and
score with ease. A rather lame 2-point attempt – a naked screen to rookie
fullback Kiero Small in the right flat – was blown up by the Bucs defense. It
was his only touch of the day.

The Buccaneers stayed in the game mainly due to the
inability of the Cleveland secondary to stop rookie wide receiver Mike Evans, who
caught seven passes for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His second TD catch
gave the Bucs a 17-16 lead late in the third quarter.

Manziel’s favorite collegiate receiver, who flashed his
Texas A&M quarterback’s trademark money sign with both hands following his
second score, abused Buster Skrine and Justin Gilbert all afternoon.

With the second half of the season looming, there are those
who believe a significant amount of relief for the beleaguered Cleveland offense will be provided
with the return of wide receiver Josh Gordon, whose 10-game suspension will be
lifted in time for the visit to Atlanta on Nov. 23. That remains to be seen.

In the meantime, the standings say the Browns are 5-3. That
cannot be argued. But their shaky performances the last three games are – and
will continue to be – items up for debate as the season rolls on.

What does it portend for the future? Who knows? Maybe it
takes playing against superior opponents to bring out the best in the Browns.
We’ll find out starting in a few days.

2 comments:

Since we continue to put up with Hoyer's weak arm and inaccuracy, I guess we are to assume that Manziel is so far behind the curve that he is currently of no value? Makes you wonder why the hell we drafted him????